Louis J. Almada (born José Luis Almada, September 7, 1907 – September 16, 2005) was a Mexican-American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. Almada played for the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

, the

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and the

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a Minor League Baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) from 1928 to 1938. He was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2014. His brother,

Mel Almada Baldomero "Mel" Almada Quirós (February 7, 1913 – August 13, 1988) was a Mexican center fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1933 through 1939 for the Boston Red Sox (1933–1937), Washington Senators (1937–1938), St. Louis Bro ...

, played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Early life

José Luis Almada was born on September 7, 1907, in

El Fuerte, Sinaloa El Fuerte () is a city and El Fuerte Municipality its surrounding municipality in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city population reported in the 2010 census was 12,566 people. El Fuerte, meaning "The Fort", was given a Pueblo ...

, Mexico. He was the son of Baldomero Almada, a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Constitutional Army The Constitutional Army (), also known as the Constitutionalist Army (), was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustia ...

, serving under

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...

, during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. The Almadas descended from

Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches ( – 20 May 1449) was a Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese knight and nobleman, with a long and illustrious career abroad in Kingdom of England, England. He was invested by the English king, Henry VI ...

. He had one brother,

Mel Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

, and six sisters. Mel later became the first Mexican-born player in

. Due to threats of assassination from the regime of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

, Obregón's rival, the Almada family moved to the United States. In 1915, the government of

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

appointed Baldomero Almada to serve as a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

to the United States, based in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. They later moved to Los Angeles.

Baseball career

Almada attended

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a publ ...

, and he played for the school's baseball team and as a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Sam Crawford Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a sh ...

scouted Almada, who signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and reported to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with them in 1927. The Giants kept Almada on their roster for the beginning of the season, though he did not appear in a game for them. In May, the Giants sent Almada to a

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

, the

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of the Senators generally pl ...

of the Eastern League. They demoted him later in the season to the

Richmond Colts The Richmond Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1953. They played in the Virginia League in 1894, and in another Virginia League in 1900, and another Virginia League from 1 ...

of the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928, folding in June. The most fa ...

, but he did not like it there and received his unconditional release from the Giants. In 1928, Almada attended

with the Wichita Larks of the Western League, but he was released before the beginning of the season. He made his PCL debut with the

as a

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

in June 1928, and continued to play as a semi-professional. In February 1929, Almada signed with the

of the PCL. He had a .305

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

for Seattle that season, and batted .298 and .289 in the 1930 and 1931 seasons, respectively. In 1930, Almada led all professional baseball outfielders with 479

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...

s. He led all PCL outfielders with 31 assists in 1931. While he played for Seattle, Almada earned the nickname "Ladies Day Louie" because it seemed that he played better on Thursdays, when the team had a

ladies' day Ladies' Day may refer to: * Ladies' Day (baseball), a promotional event in Major League Baseball during the 20th century * ''Ladies' Day'' (film), a 1943 film by Leslie Goodwins Related * Ascot Gold Cup, held on the third day of the Royal Asco ...

promotion. In 1932, Almada brought his younger brother, Mel, with him to Seattle's spring training. Mel made the Indians' roster, and the Indians cut Lou, who signed with the

. After Lou had negotiated Mel's contract with the Indians, the Indians sought to cut Lou's salary, which he refused, resulting in his release. Almada became the Reds'

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", that is, drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the ...

, and batted .320 in 158 games for the 1932 season. He tied

Ray French Raymond James French, MBE (born 23 December 1939) is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. French played at international level in both codes. He won four caps for England in rugby union ...

for the PCL lead with 30

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. In 1933, Almada had a .357 batting average, fourth-best in the PCL behind teammates Oscar Eckhardt (.414) and Bucky Walters (.376) and

Earl Sheely Earl Homer Sheely (February 12, 1893 – September 16, 1952) was an American first baseman for the Chicago White Sox (1921–27), Pittsburgh Pirates (1929) and Boston Braves (1931). Sheely finished sixth in voting for the 1925 American League MV ...

of the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

(.359). He batted .332 during the 1934 season, the ninth-best average in the league, and batted .302 for the 1935 season. In 1936, his batting average dropped to .286 in 172 games, and to .252 in 143 games in 1937. Before the 1938 season, the Reds relocated, becoming the new Hollywood Stars, after the previous Stars had relocated. Almada opted to retire from the PCL rather than play for Hollywood. He played for a team from

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in north ...

, in the

California State League There were at least three class D California State Leagues in operation at some point in minor league baseball history. Two lasted just a single season (1910 and 1929) and the other lasted three seasons 1913 through 1915. The 1910 version was act ...

in 1940, and also played as a semi-professional.

Personal life

Almada married Ligia Davila in 1932. They had a daughter, Cristina Biegel of Carmel and a son, Charles Luis Almada of Seal Beach. Almada died at his home in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

, on September 16, 2005. In 2014, Almada was elected to the

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). It was created by the Helms Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles in 1942 to honor those ind ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Almada, Lou 1907 births 2005 deaths Baseball players from Sinaloa Baseball players from Los Angeles Baseball outfielders Los Angeles High School alumni Albany Senators players Richmond Colts players Hollywood Stars players Seattle Indians players Mission Reds players Mexican emigrants to the United States